Longtime owner of popular Marshall Street pizzeria dies

Syracuse, NY -- Stephan Cannellos still remembers how he spent Sundays as a kid. After church he made pizzas the rest of the day and into the evening with his father, George, who co-owned Cosmos Pizza Shop on Marshall Street.

The elder Cannellos passed away Friday at the age of 87, after running the pizza shop that was perpetually popular with Syracuse University students for nearly 50 years.

"People were not just going there to eat. It was a social place," Stephan Cannellos said. "Besides his family, that was his life."

George Cannellos went into business on Marshall Street with his brother in 1963 and designed the restaurant as an environment students at nearby Syracuse University would feel comfortable in, Stephan Cannellos said. He also made a point of hiring hundreds of college students over the years, many of whom worked for him their entire time in college and returned often later in life.

Long a favorite hangout for Syracuse students, George Cannellos knew many of the university's students, athletes and coaches by name, his son said. Over the years, he got to know just about every star basketball and football player that entered his restaurant. In addition to being an alumnus, George Cannellos was a die-hard Syracuse fan and held season tickets for basketball and football for decades.

Customers often asked to see George Cannellos, who knew many of them by name. That suited him just fine.

"That's what he loved. He was a larger than life personality," Stephan Cannellos said. "Everyone that met him loved him."

In addition to being a people person, he was also a family man, his son said. Coming from a large Greek family, everyone, including his wife of 62 years Corinne, worked at the restaurant over the years.

But it wasn't just about pizza.

George Cannellos liked to spend his extra time with his family, working on race cars, boating or just visiting his extended family, his son said. In 2006 -- at the age of 81 and after more than 50 years around race cars -- he was still racing his 1968 Charger, topping out at 135 mph.

"He just kept going and going," Stephan Cannellos said.

Other members of the family had taken over running the day-to-day operations of the restaurant, but until the about two months ago, George Cannellos still worked nearly every day at Cosmos, making food in back and visiting with longtime customers.

After 50 years making pizzas, raising his family and enjoying life, Stephan Cannellos said his father had very few regrets.